Website

Who on here has a substantial website presence? Meaning when lawn care is googled in your area you pull up on the first page? And in this industry is it as important as all the others I have worked for which is absolutely mandatory. Some are saying that in this industry it is not as important , this true? Im considering sticking substantial money in mine and want to here some of you weigh in. Thanks.

Who says it's not important?..we are not in the phone book for the 3d year and have seen increase in business like no other year. 25% in the past 2 years, so I'd say in my case, your source is wrong...Posted via Mobile Device

Statistically speaking, the phone book is becoming less relevant everyday.

In a very big way, local SEO can be more competitive than just going after the entire world, not because its easier to rank on those terms, but because you have a tight area to get your message across.

Some things to think about.

How fast a page loads these days is becoming a huge factor in how friendly a site is with being listed in the Search Engine. Google, for instance, makes the bulk of its money off of advertising, and providing relevant links that its customers like is a big key to that success, so they put weight on sites that can deliver content quickly, along with the content being quality and relevant.

Do not hire a designer/developer who hasn't ever heard of w3.org. this site is responsible for the standards on the web, if you meet a someone who says they can build a site and doesn't know this, there is a real good chance his site can look pretty but hurt your chances at being competitive on the web. That's not to say there are not reasons to break the rules, but if you don't understand the standards, how could you understand when a rule is not relevant in a special case?

Websites don't guarantee contact with anyone. Lots of people go I need a website and treat it like a business card, never doing anything to promote themselves in the way the web works. When I meet clients who refuse to understand this, I don't take them on because I know they will have false expectations on the benefits of a website. Truly, a successful site has three parts involved, design, development (including optimization at the server level), and SEO.

Local Business need to focus quickly on sites like Google Places, Yelp, etc. Follow through with clients and encourage them to leave reviews. Site owners need strategies for producing content periodically and link strategies that help strengthen their spot on the web. Some of this is a lot less important when an area is less populated, but in denser populations, these things definitely matter a lot.

There is also social strategies. A lot of business think that means just having a twitter account or a Facebook page. While that is a start, coming up with creative ways to get true interaction with other people on these networks is where a social presence pays off.

I am a web developer and IT guy who has a Landscaping client, the site is at washingtonlawns.com

A site can be simple, but needs to be easy to navigate & get found. If you listen to anyone or everyone who has an opinion, you would never get anything accomplished. You do not need to hire a "Designer" or know about "W3.org" to have a successful campaign. Yes these are very HELPFUL tips, but not 100% necessary! You can do your own research on:
How to build a website/ how not to build a website
How to blog/how not to blog
How to list your business
How to optimize your website
How to perform Search Engine Optimization
How to use Webmaster Tools
How to use Social Media for your business

The internet provides a wealth of information most don't know is there. Are you gonna listen to someone who has built a business website that can't be found "Organically" or "Naturally" in more than one service area? Or are you gonna realize you DO NOT need to spend all kinds of $$$ to get your business found without looking embarrassing.

that's what's great about having a local business - you stand a real good chance of getting on page 1 for specific, local search terms. there are lots of strategies for accomplishing that.

you DO NOT need to spend all kinds of $$$ to get your business found.

Click to expand...

absolutely. it took me the better part of last winter, but i did it mostly myself, and i did not spend a lot of money. and i got several calls a day this fall from organic search for my long-tail keywords - they all include the towns that i work in.

Another thing to think about - online business directories. Go through and make sure you're on them and the info is correct. ONE phone number, ONE address! There are lots of business directories. You could do one a day all winter long.

Another thing - reputation management. You need good reviews on Yelp etc. Give your good customers a card and ask them for a review. You cannot pay them or offer services. It must be on goodwill. This has gotten very big as google and Yelp 'broke up' recently on this with +1 and companies getting loads of bad Yelp reviews but ranking highly because the site had lots of reviews - even though they were bad ones.

If you have a bad review, contact that person and try to make good. Once satisfactory, ask them to amend their comments. This is really important because the search indices take your reviews into account.